How to Let Peace Rule

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Girlfriends in God, obedience, peace, surrender

Via Girlfriends in God

Mary Southerland

Today’s Truth

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts (Colossians 3:15a, NIV).

Friend to Friend

Understanding peace does not guarantee the presence of peace. I can fill my days with so many tasks, meetings, appointments, tasks and activities that peace disintegrates before noon. In Colossians 3:15, Paul encourages us to “let the peace of Christ rule” in our hearts. The word “rule” is an athletic term meaning “to preside at the games and distribute the prizes.” Sounds like a typical day in the life of a woman to me!

In the Greek games, there were judges who rejected the contestants who were not qualified and disqualified those who broke the rules. Today, we would call them “umpires” and the playing field of peace would be our hearts. “Heart” refers to “the center of one’s being.” Peace begins its reign in the center of our being; then works its way out into every nook and cranny of life – if we allow peace to rule.

Admittedly, there are times in life when an umpire seems like a good idea because many of us relish a good fight. We say we want peace, but not at the price of giving up control or surrendering personal agendas. We must stand firm in our resolve to pursue harmony and peace, even if it means giving up rights and yielding control.

Relationships must be committed to peace. It is difficult to wage war with someone who has laid down their weapons in an act of surrender. Ah, there’s that dreaded word again – surrender. Surrender is the heart beat of peace. The choice to surrender initiates the process of allowing peace to rule. I guess you could say the peace of God is our “umpire” and in every situation and stands ready to make the calls that will lead us to rest in and trust Him – when we choose to let peace rule. The work of peace is always unleashed by our choices which invite the Holy Spirit to work in and through us.

Choose to be obedient.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.  And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Colossians 3:16-17, NIV). 

The lakes in Florida are beautiful, but relatively shallow as well. Over the years, they fill up with the silt and mire that wash off the shore. In time, they accumulate 2 to 3 feet of mire and decaying vegetation at the bottom. Soon that mire begins to deprive the lake, plants and fish of valuable oxygen and eventually the lakes literally die. In order to halt this process, a program has been put in place to drain the lakes periodically and expose the mire. After the mire is exposed, workers come in and dredge the mire – restoring the lake bottom to its original condition. The lake water can then be raised and soon the lake, its vegetation and fish are thriving again.

Our lives are much the same. We need to regularly expose and eliminate the “mire” or sin in our lives. The more we seek God, walk in obedience and nurture our relationship with Him, the stronger our peace will grow. When we have a personal relationship with God, we also have access to all of God’s power and all of God’s peace. How much power we receive from Him and how much peace we experience in Him depends upon how right our relationship is with Him.

Admonish one another with all wisdom (Colossian 3:16b, NIV).

“Admonish” literally means “to warn, to instruct or correct.” Paul is talking about obedience that is guarded by accountability. As John 14:23 (NCV) states, how much we love God is measured by how much we obey God. “Jesus answered, ‘If people love me, they will obey my teaching.’” Obedience is easier in an atmosphere of accountability.

Dan and I learned countless life lessons in ministry but one of the most important lessons was in the area of accountability. Hardly a week passes without a distressed phone call from some pastor or pastor’s wife, asking for help in their marriage, their ministry, or their personal lives. The problems ranged from drug addictions and alcoholism, to extra-marital affairs, prodigal children, mishandling church funds or…well, you name it! Every phone call serves as a reminder for us to be diligent in our efforts to maintain integrity. Wooden office doors at the church have been replaced with glass doors.  We have a staff of professional counselors who handle the mounting demands and need for ongoing, personal counseling. Weekly staff meetings always include a time of holding each other accountable for time spent with children, dates with spouses as well as blunt conversations concerning potential temptations or struggles. Accountability is a hedge of protection that helps protect us from the storms and temptations in life.

After planting several pine trees in our front yard, I was concerned that they were not growing straight, even though we had planted them straight. One of our neighbors told me not to worry. “The winter winds are coming,” she explained. “The pines will grow against the wind and naturally straighten themselves while gaining strength to survive the winter.” Her words of plant-life-wisdom ring true for each one of us. Obedience and accountability encourage peace and strengthen us for the storms of life.

Let’s Pray

Father, I am weak and recognize my helplessness to be obedient without Your strength and power. I have sinned against You, Lord. I now confess that sin and choose to turn away from it. Thank You for the forgiveness and restoration I find in You.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

Distracted, Anxious & Troubled??

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Mark Driscoll, Mars Hill Church, peace, worry

Ok, so the title of this clip by Pastor Mark Driscoll at Mars Hill Church pretty much sums up how I have felt since I have start working. My issue isn’t one that many of us do not face. We are all taught to be worker bees and multitasking to be more productive. But is it really? This is a shorter version of a longer sermon that can be viewed on Pastor Driscoll’s church website www.marshillchurch.org called Mary and Martha and references Luke 10:38-42:

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

I often hear about others countries who work far less, allow longer vacations and even lunch hours for employees. Do you think we don’t value quiet time because it seems unproductive?

A Place of Peace

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about me, peace

Feeling Like This Right Now...

¹² LORD, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us.

Isaiah 26:12

I went to Bible study today, having not stepped into my church for two weeks. Blame it on busyness, blame it on laziness, blame it on me. The church address hadn’t changed, but my schedule is constantly ebbing and flowing.

When I walked into the sanctuary today, I felt a rest inside of me that I had missed. Two weeks isn’t a long time naturally, but spiritually it seemed like so much has happened. My walk with God is a daily journey that helps me to grow, and realizing how screwed up I am without Him, I need Him through every step. A person like me can’t afford a week off.

Besides Biblical definitions of the word sanctuary, it means a sacred place where fugitives were formerly entitled to immunity from arrest. I don’t know where other people find refuge, but church is one place that calms my body, soul and spirit in a way that no other place does. My creativity is sparked, my spirit is engaged, and my knees honestly don’t ache as bad. Everything feels right when I am in the Lord’s house.

Next time you are feel uneasy, try visiting a place where you know God dwells. That could be reading the Bible, that could be prayer and that could be a church. Whatever you have to do to feel the presence of God is your safety zone. I know that I cannot go long without a fresh revelation of God’s word.

Getting Satisfaction

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faith, happiness, love, peace, worry

God is funny. And He is right all of the time. All of us are looking for peace and satisfactions, whether we admit to it or not. Whatever a person does, no matter how crazy it is, what it really boils down to is peace, love and satisfaction. I think when a person is lacking in one of those areas, it causes a chain reaction in other peoples’ lives. If X person is without peace, he pushes that onto Y person and before you know it Z is affected.

I say God is funny because those three things that I mentioned, peace, love and satisfaction, don’t come from people or things. And we cause ourselves so much stress and get so distracted trying to extract it out of things that simply don’t have it. People may get along with you for extended periods of time. They may be quiet and cause no problems. They may genuinely love you the best that they can. But they will inevitably disappoint you, because we are all flawed. None of us can perfectly satisfy another person all the time. Even with extended efforts. It just cannot be. So when we get mad at people for not being who we think they should be, we have to remember that THEY are not the key to our happiness.

Neither are things. God saw it in my will to give me a job and has been blessing me financially in ways that I never imagined. And I am thankful, don’t get me wrong. But those blessings are not they key to my peace, either. Because money comes…and money goes. Things are great, and then they break. And you need money to fix or replace them. Or you use it all up and you need more. And the hunger for things never goes away. It never provides you any satisfaction. As much as you love your house, car, makeup or clothes, they can’t love you back. They can’t comfort you or make life any better when you think about it.

Once again, I say God is funny, because how many times did He have to tell ME this!

Solomon says:

All man’s efforts are for his mouth, yet his appetite is never satisfied.

What advantage has a wise man over a fool?
What does a poor man gain by knowing how to conduct himself before others?

Better what the eye sees than the roving of the appetite.
This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

Ecclesiastes 6:7-9

He also said in Ecclesiastes 5:10-11:

Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.
This too is meaningless.

As goods increase, so do those who consume them.
And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them?

Jeremiah 17:5-6 says:

This is what the LORD says:
“Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD.

He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes.
He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.

Jesus says:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6: 19-21

Jesus also says:

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life

Matthew 25:27

And on and on! The Bible says so many things about not trusting man and stuff to make us feel good. Depending on God is the only way to feel real satisfaction and love in this life. I thank God for dealing with me and my foolishness at times, because as I keep that thought at my forefront, it peels away all of my stresses and anxieties.

I hope this message helps you to put your problems in the proper perspective. Instead of trying to make people understand you and get more things to feel better, turn to the Bible and God will let you know that your problem is not people and stuff…it’s YOU and where your trust lies.

Sex In The City (In The Bible)

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fashion, Jesus, movies, peace, relationships, sex, sin, women

They have nothing on the women in the Bible!

I feel like the only woman in the world who isn’t excited about the release of Sex In The City 2. Unless you have been living under a rock, or with your nose inside your Bible, the story chronicles the lives of four flirty and successful New York City socialites juggling men, money, clothes and careers in a fast city.

Their decadent lifestyles have gained them legions of followers who pattern their personal style after their adventures. My friends look at me crazy when I tell them I have never, really watched Sex In The City. Maybe a few of those edited episodes on TBS. Even though I love fashion and Carrie is a writer, the whole thing was never really appealing to me.

The Bible features many virtuous and strong women. But it also features tales of passion, indiscretion, dram and redemption. They might not have been as well dressed as Samantha and them, but their stories are just as fascinating! Here are some interesting lessons from some not so notable women of the Bible, that might teach you more than just the correct way to pronounce designer’s names.

Lot’s Wife (The Bag Lady)

Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens. Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, including all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land. But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

Genesis 19:24-27

Her story is not really a story. She is defined by a mistake she made. When God decided to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot and his family was allowed to escape and was told not to look back. Lot’s Wife, looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt. How many of us women are delivered and set free from our bad circumstances and still look back at our past. The Bible tells us that this can destroy us. When God gives us a way of escape, He wants us to take it and run with it! Don’t let your past hold you up!

The Potiphar’s Wife (The  Lil’ Freak)

…Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!”

But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.

Genesis 39:6-9

She spotted the slave boy Joseph and though he was hot. Even though she was the master’s wife, she stepped to him. Joseph told her no for two reasons. One out of respect for his earthly master, secondly for his respect of his spiritual master. Then, the Potiphar’s wife got upset and told her husband that Joseph tried to rape her! This woman was manipulative, a liar, a cheater and a drama queen! In these days, she would have been the rich and lonely housewife trying to sleep with the pool boy and ruin his reputation. Some women are guilty of being scandalous toward men, and using their sexuality to get whatever they want. And though it seemed like Joseph’s life was ruined by his decision not to sleep with her, it eventually put him in the position to save his family. Women today think it is something wrong with a man when he doesn’t want to sleep with them. He may be more dedicated to his work for God than his work between the sheets!

Abigail (Ms. No More Drama)

His name was Nabal and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband, a Calebite, was surly and mean in his dealings.

1 Samuel 25:3

Abigail was married to a rich and stubborn husband who didn’t know how to treat people. Her husband’s men were rude to David and his crew and wouldn’t give them any food to eat, even though they were polite and followed the protocol when entering their territory. To counter her husband’s ignorance, Abigail brought David and his men food and water, avoiding a possibly bloody situation. A few days later, Abigail’s husband died, the Bible says, “The Lord struck him. (1 Samuel 25:38)” David found out and ended up marrying Abigail.

Abigail was a peacemaker. We can learn from her to do all that we can to make peace. Women sometimes have the power to end a situation, and we should use that ability, not try to make men fight over us! She was also underestimated because she was pretty. Her first husband loved her because she was cute, but David saw that she was wise as well. She didn’t use her looks to solve the issue with David and her first husband; she used wisdom and kindness. In turn, David fell for her! How romantic!

The Adulterous Woman (Ms. Promiscuous Girl)

The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”

John 8:3-5

Her people were about to stone her to death for being a whore. Back in the time of Jesus, and adulterous woman’s penalty for her sin was death. How many of us today would have been stoned due to her promiscuity? Certainly, our damsels from Sex In The City! But Jesus saved her! He infamously told the angry mob, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her. (John 7:8)” Her only duty after being saved was to “go now and leave your life of sin. (John 7:11)”

People may see you as a person who deserves to die. People might treat you like the low down person you are or used to be. Even if you have been with every man in town, on the low or in public, God sees you as a person who deserves a second chance. Had it not been for Jesus, who can save us from any sin, this woman’s story would not be here today to tell of redemption, change and the goodness of Jesus Christ! Her life is a testimony, and we all should use our past mistakes in order to show off what God can do!

Scriptures on Peace & Quiet

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peace, scriptures

This partial list comes from ScriptureMenu.com:

John 14:27

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

—John 14:27

John 16:33

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

—John 16:33

Romans 5:1

5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

—Romans 5:1

Romans 8:6

For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

—Romans 8:6

Romans 14:17-19

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.

—Romans 14:17-19

Philippians 4:6-7

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

—Philippians 4:6-7

Colossians 3:15

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

—Colossians 3:15

2 Thessalonians 3:16

Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.

—2 Thessalonians 3:16

Peace, Be Still

Tags

faith, peace

I think the underrated spiritual tool we have is silence and quiet. It can do so much to bring clarity and focus into our lives and reveal God’s word.

I wrote a couple weeks ago about guarding your mouth and how to watch the words you say. Since then, I have been a lot quieter around people. And in my quietness, I have learned so much about others. People mindlessly chatter because they get nervous and uncomfortable with silence. And that can lead them to say some stupid things!

Ecclesiastes 10:12-14 says:

The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious,
But the lips of a fool shall swallow him up;
The words of his mouth begin with foolishness,
And the end of his talk is raving madness.
A fool also multiplies words.
No man knows what is to be;
Who can tell him what will be after him?

We don’t have to fill the silence in a room. So many people have taken business and networking classes and have learned to be chatty and social, but have no discernment over their tongue. Being nice and being noticed isn’t always about what you say. The quieter I’ve been this week, the more I’ve noticed people who curse just to fill the space of a conversation and people who will tell you everything on their mind just because no one else is talking.

Isaiah 26:3 (from the Amplified Bible)

You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.

Sometimes, I have periods in my life where I don’t hear from God. They come from times when I am too busy to spend time with Him, or too caught up in things that have nothing to do with Him. And then there are times when I think I’m doing everything He wants me to do, and I just don’t hear from Him. That requires a different kind of silence. Silencing of your schedule, your extra-curricular activities, the people in your life, cell phones, Facebook and whatever is being noisy so that you can’t hear God’s voice.

I know a man who wanted to make some changes in his life, and he went a whole year of doing nothing but going to work, coming home to read his Bible and pray and then church. He totally silenced everything that was a distraction to him so that He could hear God’s voice.

Peace and stillness. It can show others that God is a part of our lives. God gives us peace, stillness, quietness and downtime to talk to Him. Some only come to Him in chaos and confusion. But a real friend enjoys a quiet and relaxing time with God, which can bring about true revelation and deliverance.

Sometimes it’s good just to turn off the TV when cleaning the house or turn off the radio while driving and let the quietness and stillness be of comfort to your soul. You will be surprised by the outcome.